Teaching Toughness

Teaching Toughness
Creating an intense, disciplined, hustling team begins with a program of exercises for mind and body.
R.J. Anderson, Assistant Editor at Coaching Management
Coaching Management, 14.6, August 2006

When UCLA made its run to the 2006 NCAA Final Four, the word coaches, players, writers, and TV commentators used to describe the Bruins was “tough.” Using chest-to-chest pressure defense and a methodical ball-control offense, UCLA imposed its will game after game, forcing opponents out of their comfort zones and into a lower-scoring tempo. The effect of this in-your-face style was never more evident than when UCLA held the University of Memphis, a high-scoring number one seed chock full of NBA-caliber talent, to a season-low 45 points in the tournament semifinals.

UCLA’s transformation from a freewheeling, hard-driving, running team to a disciplined, cerebral, defensive-minded unit was no accident. Since arriving at UCLA in 2003, Head Coach Ben Howland has carved a place in Bruin lore with an approach that stresses taking care of the ball, maintaining great defensive and rebounding intensity, and toughness. After playing under Howland, student-athletes walk away with their bodies stronger, their minds more disciplined, and their game more controlled.

For many coaches, toughness seems like the kind of intangible quality that can’t be taught. There’s no single way to measure it, no standard textbook, and no set of time-tested drills. Too often, it’s seen as the byproduct of good coaching and willing students. But coaches like Howland, Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Mike Dunlap, and Michigan State University’s Joanne McCallie include it as part of their daily workouts, coming up with new ways to build the discipline that underlies both mental and physical toughness to create a culture shared by every member of the team...

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